As Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, Conservative MP Caroline Nokes is at the forefront of the fight for women’s empowerment, equality and – most importantly – holding the Government to account.

At AllBright’s International Women’s Day Step Forward Summit, she spoke with fellow panellists Sandra Igwe and Dr Ronx about what policymakers, health professionals and business leaders alike can do to combat a huge symptom of gender inequality: the gender health gap.

When it comes to the one key action that the government needs to take to meaningfully close the gap, Caroline tells AllBright how crucial it is we “focus research on women’s health”, adding that “it is a very poor relation to men’s health when it comes to research and trials”.

Part of the problem is a lack of research budget prioritisation for women’s health, she says, and insists this is no accident. “There is always an argument put forward that bids for funding are competitive and that it just so happens that female centred research just misses out. I don’t buy that,” she says.  

“We know that something like five times more is spent on research on erectile dysfunction than women’s reproductive health.”

She has also been very vocal about the need for change when it comes to how the menopause is viewed and discussed, particularly in the workplace. When a report last year found that progress on the Government’s work on improving conditions for people going through menopause in the workplace was "glacial”, Caroline herself spoke out, suggesting that she was “unconvinced that menopause is a Government priority”.

“We all need to talk about it,” she tells AllBright. “Men too. Every man has a partner, mother, sister, employee, employer, colleague or friend who will go through this at some point.” Significantly, she says conversation around subjects like menopause needs to not be “squeamish”. A matter-of-fact attitude towards women’s bodies and health should work to empower us and affect change.

“Too often medical professionals, women themselves, teachers, parents are coy about talking about the female anatomy using the correct names,” Caroline explains. “We can’t expect women to be able to articulate what they fear is wrong with them if they don’t have the confidence to use language that is accurate.”  

This kind of work needs to begin in schools, centring how we educate women to perceive and talk about their bodies. “This has to start with RSHE in schools building confidence and empowerment in girls,” she says, adding: “I don’t understand why we are not using a statutory part of the curriculum effectively.”

Caroline is passionate about ensuring healthcare access and diagnosis for women improves. 84% of female respondents in a 2022 governmental survey said they felt their voices were not listened to when they spoke to a healthcare professional. She voices her frustration at the suggestion that health conditions like menopause are “over-medicalised”, insisting it’s another example of the double standard when it comes to attitudes towards healthcare for men over women.

“Nobody tells men that erectile dysfunction is just a natural part of the ageing process, they give them viagra,” she says. “We don’t ignore osteoporosis, we treat it! Menopause needs treating, it is the impact of a loss of oestrogen, which can be replaced.”

 Speaking openly and loudly about believing women is another top priority for Caroline. She has voiced her solidarity and support with women like novelist Daisy Goodwin, who spoke out last year about being sexually harassed by a Downing Street adviser. Caroline directly described the process of dealing with sexual harassment in politics as too slow, advocating for “a zero-tolerance approach to inappropriate behaviour by men in politics towards women”. 

In order for women to feel safe from harassment in Parliament, and workplaces more widely, change is needed. For Caroline, this includes "better whistleblowing policies, banning NDAs and male allies calling out their colleagues when they are behaving appallingly.” Above all, we need a better definition of the impact and seriousness of sexual harassment: “[We need] recognition that behaviour does not have to cross a criminal threshold to be inappropriate.”

This year also sees the 10-year anniversary of the implementation of Clare’s Law, a disclosure scheme for domestic violence, leading critics to insist that there needs to be more essential funding commitments for domestic abuse services in order to make women’s safety a complete priority.

Caroline agrees, having spoken previously about her experiences as a coercive control survivor, adding that she wants to see change in the form of “making sure domestic abuse services are a statutory obligation for local councils. I would also make sure consent was taught as part of the RSHE curriculum”.

Another area of female empowerment that needs urgent attention, according to Caroline, is the gender pension gap and its huge impact on women’s financial independence. “Women are screwed over throughout their careers,” she says. 

“We earn less, take more time off for caring responsibilities, we don’t take promotions because of menopause symptoms, it all ends up with us being poorer in later life as well because we make fewer pension contributions.”

It feels like a vicious cycle, with so many gaps in access, pay and cultural advantage. But if women in power like Caroline are speaking out, we make bigger steps forward towards change. 

She tells AllBright that the most significant thing she does day to day to ensure women are represented is to use her own voice. 

“I speak – I speak a lot,” she says. “I champion issues that women are facing, whether that is cost of living, childcare, gender pay gaps. I use my voice so that others can hear their experiences being highlighted.”